Repairman&#39;s creeper



Apri 18, 1939. w. MAHLOCH REFAIRMANS CREFIPER Filed April le, 1958 1 A TTO/e/VEY Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3- Claims.

Stating the nature of the case generally, and as is evident from a general inspection of the drawing, the invention relates to that category of structures grouped under the classification 5 of garage Creepers and has for its primary object means provided to raise or lower the creeper in its entirety off the ground surface so that the casters will be lifted from engagement with the supporting surface and provides suitable and rigid legs or feet to! support the Creeper and keep it from motion when it is desired to anchor it denitely underneath an automobile which is to be worked upon by a garage mechanic.

Another object of the invention is to provide l5 a simple operating means for performing the lifting action as well as for taking out of engagement the feet of the creeper permitting it to rest on the casters allowing it to be moved universally in any direction desirable.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an underslung body supporting structure, inasmuch as the room underneath a car is limited, so that it will provide the maximum of operating and working convenience.

Another object of this invention is the profvision of manually operative control which at no time protrudes above or below the working surface of the creeper so as to oder no impediment of any kind to the mechanic reclining thereon.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple, practical, .eiicient and economical device which can be produced very cheaply.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing wherein like numerals are employed to designate corresponding mechanical details of the parts thruout the views:

L0 Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing my invention, looking at its upper surface.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of my invention showing the surface below.

Fig. 3 is a front view of my invention shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory detailed arrangement showing the action of the handle member with respect to raising or lowering the creeper.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, we notice rst an oblong frame structure generally desighated by the numeral 6. This structure is made up of four metal parts namely the angle iron structure l, oppositely disposed and connected by virtue of metal straps 8.

To describe further the details of construction the angle iron pieces 'I are opened at each end as designated by the numeral I0, and attened out also being bent upward as shown at II, and then, once again as at I2 parallel to the original 5 angle iron portion piece 1. This bending provides the underslung support for the body support I4.

The strengthening rib IIU is the one that is opened up in order to provide the surface l0. lo The two members l are connected by virtue of steel straps 8, which are similarly bent upward in order to provide level supporting portions 9 which in conjunction with surface l are all in the same plane in order to support uniformly the l5 body support i4. This. body support I4 is preferably made of wood, fiber or other suitable materials, and has reduced head and leg supporting portions l5 and I5. At each of the fourcorners of this metallic frame work 6 are fastened suit- 20 able universal acting casters such as. designated by the numeral I3 and which permit the entire vcreeper tobe moved around in any desired position or location most convenient for working underneath automobiles.

It will be noticed that the body support member I4 at its head portion has a padded pillow I6 or other padded material which offers a convenient headrest for the mechanic reclining thereon. 30

Proceeding further' we note that the frame work has attached thereto the bearings 20 which comprise a simple strap bearing formed to accommodate the rods I9, being riveted or otherwise suitably 'secured to the angle member 7. 35 On opposite sides are dilerent types of bearings approximately as is designated by the numeral 2|, in order to support the rods I9 from each of their ends, thereby assuring rigidity for the purpose for which they are provided. 40

The rods I 9 have two cam-like extensions designated by 22 and 23 respectively. 'I'hese camlike feet are for the purpose to be described hereinafter. At the under surface of the angle member l there are two long leaf-like spring 45 structures designated by the numeral 20 and shaped approximately as shown or to the most suitable shape needed for flexible and efficient operation. 'Ihese are riveted to the angle iron frame 'l with ends 21 so disposed as to permit 50 exing in an upward and downward movement whenever the mechanism is so operated.

I'he dotted lines 2l show the ends 21 in normal position. The rod members I9 heretofore referred to have angularly disposed exten- 55 sions 241 which are connected by virtue of rod member with loosely pivoted pins such as are designated by the numeral 33. These extensions 24 at a point approximately designated by 32 are swivelably connected to a link member which in turn is swivelably connected at the point 3| to a handle member 28 which is designated as the operating handle for raising or lowering the Creeper body.

By referring to Figure 4, the operation of this mechanism for raising or lowering the Creeper can be more readily seen. It will be noted that the handle member 28 which is pivoted to angle iron frame 1 at 29 moves through an angle of 180, thereby assuring that there Will be no protruding extension above the working surface or upper surface of the Creeper, so that the Creeper cannot be accidentally thrown out of engagement from its solid support. When the handle member 28 moves to the position designated by 28 it will move the extension 24 of rod member I9 to the position 24 thereby moving the cam foot 23 to its neutral position 23 and similarly the other rod member will work in like fashion thru the parallelogramic motion imparted by the connecting rod 25.

It is believed that the arrows added to the View, Figure 4 supplement and clarify the explanation herein. YIn operation this device is utilized as follows:

A mechanic desiring to go underneath the chassis of a car in order to perform work thereupon first will recline on his back on the creeper when the rollers are in contact with the ground, then push his way with this Creeper underneath .an automobile where he is to perform some work. After the desirable position is located for Convenient working purposes, he will manipulate the handle 28 according to the foregoing description, enabling himself to raise his body by raising the universal rollers I3 off the ground and simultaneously actuating cam members 22 and 23.

This operation raises and supports in frictional contact with the ground the entire Creeper preventing its motion, so that if a mechanic is the roller members i3 and thereby he places the Creeper in movable position.

When it is desirable to move to another suitable position for Work to be done underneath the car, the mechanic can then manipulate the handle member 28 as heretofore explained so that it will lock in the newly selected position by virtue of the cam feet 22 and 23 supporting the creeper against motion of any kind in any direction.

It is believed that the description taken in connection with the drawing will enable a clear understanding of the invention to be had, therefore a more lengthy description is unnecessary. While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described it is to be understood that minor Changes coming within the field of invention claims may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus described my invention what I Claim and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device of the character described, comprising an underslung frame-work, a body support mounted thereon, at least four caster members mounted in pockets formed in said underslung frame-Work, cam-footed supporting members, bearings mounted on said frame-work to house swivelably said cam-footed members, and means for raising or lowering the Creeper structure by virtue'of a parallelogramic structure, and flexing spring members mounted on said framework, distended or contracted by the motion imparted to said cam-footed supporting members.

2. A device of the character described, comprising an underslung frame structure, a body supporting member mounted thereon, universally acting caster members mounted in pockets formed in the said underslung frame-work, camfooted supporting members connected by a par- .allelogramic structure, comprising a handle member and link members connected to said cam-footed supporting members, and end flexing spring members mounted on said frame-work and cooperating with said cam-footed supporting members, and bearings mounted on said frame-work adapted to house swivelably the said cam-footed supporting members.

3. In a Creeper structure, anti-creeping means comprising, a number of cam-footed supports, a. handle parallelogramically connected Vto said cam-footed supports, and flexible spring means, for intercepting engagement of the said camfooted members, with the ground.

WILLIAM MAHLOCI-I. 

